We are all familiar with the racial controversies that developed at the University of Missouri. In the end, the chancellor and the president resigned. Once that happened, it was easy to see that the controversy and the subsequent resignations would have a detrimental impact on student enrollment. Apparently, this caught the university off guard. Fox Sports was able to obtain a copy of the interim chancellor’s letter to the university community. “I am writing to you today to confirm that we project a very significant budget shortfall due to an unexpected sharp decline in first-year enrollments and student retention this coming fall. ”

This should not have been an “unexpected decline” in student enrollments. Weeks of news coverage that catered to some of the outrageous claims and demands of campus radicals certainly would make both students and their parents reconsider whether they wanted to enroll at the University of Missouri. The interim chancellor went on to explain that the significantly lower enrollment leaves the university with a $32 million budget gap. And we might mention that this shortfall will continue each year as the smaller entering freshman class makes its way through the various degree programs. In order to deal with this major financial hit, the administration has implemented an across-the-board hiring freeze for all units on campus. No new staff. No new faculty. No new raises. The annual merit increase program will be zero for the entire campus.

Think of the irony. Many of the radicals wanted more African-American professors to be hired. Because of the racial controversy, no new professors black, white, or Latino will be hired this year or perhaps for many years to come. This is the huge financial cost when campus radicals get national attention and ruin a university’s reputation.